Certain Innocence
by Loco the Exclaimer
Summary: Armada. Sideswipe runs into a familiar face out on his drive. And why hasn't he been thrown over the edge of this cliff yet…? Wheeljack x Sideswipe for the rare pairing challenge; oneshot.


It was windy and sunny and altogether rather unmemorable. Sideswipe went slow for once, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

There hadn't been anything particularly noteworthy about his day so far. He'd had a few duties earlier, but they'd been simple, and for the most part, he had the day to himself. He didn't care for solitude, but all the other 'bots were busy (or in some cases, asleep), and he didn't want to bother them, so for company, he started the drive out to the nearby town.

The feel of driving around was good. He sped up and, on a whim, turned off to take the road into the mountains.

He drove out like that for a while. He hadn't really been keeping track; by the time he saw that he had company, he was considering turning back. Screeching to halt and transforming at once, he readied himself to meet whoever was standing in the middle of the road waiting to get hit by a car. Except they clearly wouldn't have felt it, he realized with a gasp.

"Wheeljack!"

The dark mech turned around to face him and met his look of fear and determination with one of thinly-veiled disgust. Sideswipe brought a hand to his thigh, where his gun was kept, laying a hand on the holster, and Wheeljack's chilling ice blue optics followed his every move with a sort of relaxed detachment.

Sideswipe met the stare, clearly expecting the Decepticon to attack. Wheeljack snorted.

"What?" The larger mech asked, quirking an optic ridge. "Are you waiting for me to shoot you?"

The Autobot let his hand fall away from his gun. He gave Wheeljack a suspicious look, straightening from his rather unprofessional battle stance. The Decepticon said nothing more to him, resuming his walk as though the two line exchange hadn't happened at all. He stopped at the cliff edge, near the broken railing, and Sideswipe wondered if there was a reason he'd stopped here, in particular.

Cautiously, he edged closer. Wheeljack didn't turn to face him again, so he moved closer and closer as carefully as he could.

"What are you still here for?" The deep voice growled. Sideswipe almost jumped from surprise, a sudden break in the still silence. He stood stone still for a moment, before finally just walking up to stand beside the former Autobot. He ignored the question.

"What are you looking for?" He countered.

Wheeljack looked at him out of the corner of his optics, barely tilting his head. "Looking for or looking at?"

Sideswipe paused to consider the question, and finally, shrugged. "Either. Both."

"You don't even understand your own question." The dark mech growled in return. "Why should I bother to answer?"

Sideswipe opened his mouth, closed it again, and thought about that for a moment. Hot Shot's old friend could be deep and philosophical at times, couldn't he? He rested a hand on the broken railing and leaned forward, his optics following Wheeljack's gaze to the ground far below.

That had been a very painful fall, as he recalled. He winced slightly at the memory. Wheeljack caught this and scoffed, but said nothing.

A silence fell over the two for a few moments before Wheeljack finally grew frustrated with the smaller mech's presence. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be off with your _friend_,Hot Shot?"

Sideswipe didn't reply at first. When he did, it was soft, and he didn't have the courage to look directly at the much more powerful mech. "Do you think you'll ever forgive him?"

Wheeljack growled. "Don't pretend you know what you're talking about." He turned to face Sideswipe and towered over him, apparently angered by the question. "To you, I'm just that Decepticon that threw you and Hot Shot into a fire. Chances are, you don't even understand what happened."

Sideswipe tried to shrink back, but Wheeljack stepped up beside him, pressing him backwards over the edge of the railing with the sheer force of his presence. The smaller mech found himself bent over the railing, the Decepticon leaning over him.

Finally, maybe deciding the little Autobot had already had enough of a heart attack, Wheeljack leaned away and stepped back over to the edge of the broken railing. Maybe he was hoping the look he shot Sideswipe would get the little pest to leave him alone. If he was, he was to be disappointed.

Sideswipe cautiously rested a hand on Wheeljack's arm. "…I _do_ understand what it's like to be alone."

Wheeljack stared at Sideswipe, stared at the little mech's hand, and considered knocking him over the edge of the cliff again.

"And I also know that being alone is easier when you have someone to do it with."

For some reason he couldn't place, Wheeljack softened slightly with those words. There was almost an innocence about Sideswipe, something he hadn't seen in anyone in a very long time.

"Maybe you're right, kid." He mumbled. He didn't say anything else after that, but he didn't throw Sideswipe over the railing, either.


End file.
